Blue Economy gains a Centre stage at the Ocean Dialogue during 3rd meeting of Climate Sustainability Working Group of G20’s countries

. The ongoing 3rd meeting of the Climate Sustainability Working Group of G20’s countries in Mumbai is crucial especially when the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG14)- Life Below Water- has gained a centre stage. The Blue Economy, which is a key sector being deliberated at the meeting, is of great significance as the chorus is rising among G20’s countries and various other organisations for the inclusion of promotion of a diverse and sustainable ocean economy in climate mitigation. Ocean-related industries generate $2.5 trillion of economic value globally and support almost 3 billion people’s livelihoods in industries including seafood, port construction and coastal tourism.

The Ocean Dialogue, which focuses on establishment of Blue Economy Financing Mechanism among others, is taking place at a time when according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Environment (UNCTAD), the SDG14 is the least funded of all the goals.

‘’From 2013 to 2018, only 1.6% of the total Official Development Assistance – some $2.9 billion per year – was directed to the ocean economy. This is far below what’s required to address the ocean crisis. According to recent estimates, $175 billion per year will be the minimum needed to achieve SDG14 by 2030 especially given the impact of COVID-19 and other recent setbacks. It’s also estimated that an investment of $2.8 trillion today in four sustainable ocean solutions – conservation and restoration of mangroves, decarbonization of international shipping, sustainable ocean-based food production and offshore wind production – would yield net benefits of $15.5 trillion by 2050,’’ said UNCTAD report.

Further, New Delhi based The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in its report titled ‘’Blue Economy: India’s Pathway to Sustainable, Secure and Resilient Economy,’’ the

the global economy is projected to grow from the current estimate of about USD 93 trillion to about USD 173 trillion by 2031 (Nextbigfuture.com). ‘’The G-20 infrastructure platform estimates the global infrastructure investments for the 2016-2040 period at USD 94 trillion. The BE sectors will constitute a substantial part of this expansion. Nearly half of this investment will be accounted for by four countries namely China, the USA, India, and Japan. This expansion would need resources including investments for capacity expansion, adaptations of existing operations, new sectors, technology development and induction, and innovative management tools. The success of today’s generation in combining growth with sustainability would depend on the preparedness for addressing inadequacies of policy, regulation, technology, finance, and management tools. The BE precisely seeks this paradigm shift,’’ it said.

According to TERI, there are various types of blue finance instruments including public financing, debt, equity, hybrid financing, blue, green bonds available to support ocean health and its related activities. However, to date, public funding has played a big part in ocean conservation and investment in sustainable ocean activities, both domestically and internationally through ODA and other concessional financing (OECD 2020b). Though a few private investors have become important players, to ensure the growth of the blue economy it is required to move beyond these non-returnable investments and create a market for commercial capital. This would require action on a number of fronts, including enhanced policy and regulation to realign incentives and deployment of a range of innovative financing instruments.

However, there are various challenges pertaining to blue economy financing in India and other developing countries. They included lack of investment-ready, bankable projects that are supported by a revenue model, Lack of specialist capacity to bridge the sectors of finance and economics with ocean science and management and There are definitional challenges relating to the overlap of blue economy and ocean economy. ‘’It is worthwhile to mention that among the various aforementioned challenges to finance blue economy, countries are often faced with jurisdictional challenges for protecting ocean resources. Hence, a regulatory-driven financing framework is the need of the hour,’’ adds TERI report.

As far as India’s Blue Economy is concerned, it is a subset of the national economy comprising the entire ocean resources system and human-made economic infrastructure in marine, maritime, and onshore coastal zones within the country’s legal jurisdiction.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Secretary Leena Nandan said that India has met with significant success in its efforts to protect ocean health and as the host nation of G20’s, it is uniquely placed to anchor this process. ‘’Technology has a prominent role to play in pursuing a sustainable and climate resilient blue economy. The need for promoting grassroots innovations and community involvement to solve local problems and best practices are prominently discussed during the Ocean Dialogue,’’ he added.

According to Nandan, the Ocean Dialogue presents a massive opportunity to the G20’s countries to engage in a fruitful exchange of global knowledge, ideas, experiences and best practices and thereafter collaborate to implement them regionally.